Rising Icons: The Work of Becoming™
Rising Icons: The Work of Becoming™ is a leadership initiative created for women in a formative season of life - when identity is still taking shape, expectations are increasing and leadership is already being exercised long before it is formally recognized.
This initiative centers on the work of becoming: the quiet, intentional formation that prepares women to lead with integrity, clarity, and resilience before authority accelerates.
Rising Icons - The Work of Becoming ™ is not about performance or position.
It is about readiness.
Why Rising Icons Exists?
Many young women are already leading - making decisions, influencing environments, and carrying responsibility - without language, grounding, or guidance for what they are holding.
In this season:
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expectations increase
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decisions begin to carry weight
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leadership often arrives before preparation
Rising Icons - The Work of Becoming™ exists to support women during this pivotal window - offering space for formation before pressure intensifies and visibility expands.
Leadership does not begin with a title.
It begins with who a woman is becoming.
Built on Experience
Rising Icons - The Work of Becoming™ is shaped not only by vision, but by lived experience.
Under the leadership of CEO and Co-founder Austin J. Franklin, Good-Natured Life led the Wake, Rise, & Smile Tour, serving over 10,000 students, primarily across Jacksonville and other cities throughout Florida.
This work - alongside the prestigious Good-Natured DifferenceMaker Summer Program, co-led by Dr. Deidra O. Franklin and Austin J. Franklin graduated approximately 75 high school, collegiate, and young professional participants.
Who Rising Icons - The Work of Becoming™ is For?
Rising Icons - The Work of Becoming™ is designed exclusively for women ages 18-29, including:
Undergraduate and graduate students
Young women pursuing college or graduate studies.
Young women navigating their first seasons of leadership, independence, and responsibility
Early career professionals
Young women in the early stages of their careers.
At the heart of Rising Icons - The Work of Becoming™ is a simple conviction:
Who we are shapes how we lead.
The work of becoming is the inner work that precedes visible leadership. It is the development of self-awareness, steadiness, and integrity before leadership is demanded publicly or professionally.
This work is often quiet. It is rarely rushed. And it is foundational.
Rising Icons - The Work of Becoming™ honors this work by slowing the pace and placing attention where leadership is actually formed.
What the Experience Includes
Rising Icons - The Work of Becoming™ experience introduces participants to leadership as something carried internally before it is exercised externally. The experience includes:
A signature leadership message
A curated leadership library (digital or physical)
Foundational leadership concepts
This experience is designed to be reflective, developmental, and practical - supporting women as they grow into leadership with clarity and confidence.
Architect & Leadership
Rising Icons - The Work of Becoming™ is architected by Dr. Deidra O. Franklin
President & Co-Founder of Good-Natured Life and Rhetoric Specialist. She also leads the Iconic Woman Conference & Retreat, supporting women across later seasons of leadership and legacy.
The Fellowship™ Pathway
Rising Icons - The Work of Becoming™ serves as the entry point into a deeper leadership journey.
Participants who complete the Rising Icons experience may be invited to apply for the Rising Icons Fellowship™, a multi-session virtual leadership experience focused on deeper reflection, application, and sustained growth.
Details about the fellowship™ are shared after participation in the initial experience.
How This Work is Shared
Rising Icons - The Work of Becoming™ is shared carefully. Opportunities for participation, sponsorship, and institutional partnership are communicated through direct inquiry rather than public enrollment. This approach preserves the integrity, focus, and depth of the experience.
An Invitation, Not an Application
Rising Icons - The Work of Becoming™ is not an open-enrollment program. It is a thoughtfully designed leadership initiative for women in a formative season - when identity is still being shaped, responsibility is increasing, and leadership is already being practiced long before it is named.
Participation begins with a submission of interest.
This allows us to ensure alignment, readiness, and care in how each women enters the Rising Icons - The Work of Becoming™ experience.
Those interested in learning more about Rising Icons - The Work of Becoming™ or exploring partnership opportunities are invited to submit an expression of interest.
RISING ICONS IS PART OF GOOD-NATURED LIFE, LLC, A LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT COMPANY SERVING LEADERS ACROSS GENERATIONS FOR OVER A DECADE.